Happy Halloween

Hello friends.  For those of you who celebrate...Happy Halloween!  I've never been into the scary side of Halloween...I'm more about the chocolate and seeing all the little kids dressed up in their CUTE costumes!  And making treats for my grandkids!!

Here's what I gave out this year to the grands (well, not Isaiah as he's only 2 1/2 months old right now!)...

  My cousin die cut all the pieces for me and I just assembled and filled with treats!  Pretty cute, huh?!!

I'm pretty sure the containers are probably destroyed by now, the candy eaten, and are making messes with the straws by blowing bubbles all over the place...I'm sure their mom doesn't mind!  Haha!!

And here's my littlest pumpkin...sweet Isaiah!  He is growing and growing and I'm trying to get in as many snuggles and hugs and kisses in while I can, as I know from our other 3 grands that they grow up waaaaaaaay too fast!! 

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Fun with Michele Part 2

Hello friends.  Just a quick post this morning with a few more cards that I made with some of the Anita Jeram images from my play date with Michele almost 2 weeks ago and didn't have time to finish up to put in my first post HERE.  Four cards to share with a couple of sweet pups and snowmen...let's get started.

Isn't he a cutie?!  He comes from the Sweetest Snowman Mini stamp set and I colored him up with my Copics and then mounted him on a panel that I had stamped the snowflake from CCC's BIG & BOLD: Wishes Snowflake stamp set.  The sentiment also comes from that same set, and I also added a small vellum die cut circle (The Greetery's Nordic Circle Dies) behind the snowman along with a few iridescent clear drops from PFS.  

Here's the same snowman but put on a Scalloped Frame from The Stamp Market that my sweet friend Lisa had sent me awhile back.  It's actually a 4 piece frame set...

There is also a piece to put on the back so that the card will stand up like an easel.  The top oval piece I ran through my die cut machine with SSS's 3D Icy Snowflakes embossing folder before adding the snowman (foam tape behind him for dimension) and sentiment strip (Gina K).  I also ink blended the scalloped piece with Ocean Mist ink (Gina K) and then finished with a silver brad so the card could slide open and also a few silver dots around the sentiment. 

Here's that fun pup from the Christmas Hats stamp set, and this time I added him to another one of those BIG & BOLD: Wishes Snowflake stamped with Tranquil Teal ink (Gina K) and another sentiment that's included in that same snowflake set.  

I also added TH's Distress Mica Flakes that I've had FOREVER and never remember to use!  It is such a cool look on this big and bold snowflake...going to have to remember to use this stuff more often!!

 My last card comes from the All is Bright stamp set and like all the others is colored up with my Copics and added to a card base along with a Ornate Rectangle Frame from PFS.  Very CAS but I didn't want to add anything else that would take away from the cuteness of the pup staring up at the Christmas tree lights and the sentiment...sometimes simple is just better!

So now that I've used up all my images from our last play date, I better get another date set up so I can go "borrow" some more goodies from sweet Michele...she has the best stuff to play with!!  Thanks again so much for sharing my sweet friend...you're the best!!  :0)

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Fun with Michele - October 2023

Hello friends.  Had a fun play date with Michele last week, even though Michele had car problems and my 7 year old electronic Big Shot died!  We didn't let it get us down and still had fun stamping, laughing, talking, and of course eating (I made chilli and Michele brought yummy chocolate cupcakes!!)  I have 5 cards to share with you and I think Michele has a million (JUST KIDDING!!), so sit back and get comfy while I show you what I played with!

Michele had some new Anita Jeram (Colorado Craft Co.) to play with including this sweet pup from the Christmas Hats set.  I colored him with my Copics and added a bit of glitter to his hat brim and pompom before adding him to a foiled background (PFS Hearts Grid) and a snowflake layer embossed with SU!'s Winter Snow embossing folder.  The foiled hearts are red and really SHINE IRL!  My little tag is from PTI's Tiny Tags with the coordinating stamp/die set.

Michele also brought her Waffle Flower Postage Collage Die and a couple coordinating stencil sets for me to play with, and I just love how these next two cards turned out!  I used all PFS inks with the Christmas stencils and also a gold fine liner pen that I outlined the ornament lines with and also the Poinsettia centers and dots.  Hard to see in the photo, but the gold really jazzes it up!  Added glitter to the snow on the bottom right rectangle and my sentiment is die cut from mirror gold cardstock using MB's Special Merry Christmas die.  

Can you see my oops with this Everyday stencil?  I spent so much time lining every space up with post it notes so I wouldn't get ink in the wrong place, and then decided to use some postage stamps from The Greetery's (Pretty Postmarks) set and stamped the Special Delivery circle upside down...grrrrrrrrr!!!  (top center)  Couldn't believe I did that, but after all the time I spent lining everything up with the stencils, there was no way I was going to start over!  The smaller sentiments are from SSS's Tiny Words stamp set.

Can you tell I'm on a red and white kick with these cards??  I think this card turned out to be my favorite, and I just used one of the Postage Collage die cuts and then went through all my Anita Jeram stamps and picked out the tiniest images  and stamped them in the squares and rectangles and then colored them with my Copics.  I used SSS's Holiday Tiny Words stamp set for all my sentiments and then finished with a few of Gina K's Disco Ball sequins.  Simple and oh so CUTE!!

My last card is a Spellbinder's Press Plate (Joyeux Noel) that Michele gifted me with awhile back, and I pressed it into some really cool paper Michele had found that has these wavy lines going through it!  It's not as thick as the regular cotton cardstock that you use with the letter press plates, so the impression isn't as noticeable, but the cool wavy lines totally make up for it!!

  You can see the impressions of the wavy lines a bit better in this close up.  I water colored the image using my SU! inks and an aqua painter, and then finished up with a few more of those Gina K Disco Ball sequins and some WOS on the holly leaves.  CAS in these classic Christmas colors and I love the way it turned out!

So even though we had problems with cars and die cutting machines last week, we still managed to make cards and have a wonderful time!  Make sure you check out Michele's post HERE and prepare to be blown away...Michele NEVER disappoints!!  Thanks sweet friend for another wonderful play date!!
 

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge

Hello friends.  Playing along with the Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge today and sharing a card I made for a sweet friend.

Here's what I came up with...

I was inspired/enabled by a friend (thanks Richard!) to buy Tim Holtz's Moon Masks and started my background by masking off the circle and then ink blending with lighter to darker blue, purple, and black inks.  I then splattered water to give the illusion of stars in the sky.  Once it was dry I used the 2nd part of the Moon Masks to create the look of the craters (?) or whatever they're called on the surface of the moon.  I just love the way this background turned out!

Next I added the cat (SU! Spooky Cat) that I stamped in black and then fussy cut out, along with a stamped pumpkin from Gina K's Breath of Sunshine stamp and die set, and then finished off with a pair of googly eyes and a die cut boo sentiment from SSS.  Not too spooky but definitely FUN!!

Lots of awesome Halloween inspiration from the DT and you can find it all right HERE.  This challenge is open till Saturday, October 28th.  

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Double D Challenge - PUMPKINS

Hello friends.  Playing along with the Double D Challenge where they are looking for PUMPKINS!

What a fun mood board, right??!  I have a twofer for you today using my new favorite pumpkin dies from The Greetery (Plump Pumpkins).  I love that both of the dies in this set are so big...they really make a focal point on your card!  Here's the 1st one...

I started with a new 3D embossing folder from SSS called Falling Leaves and luckily was able to put it through my electronic Big Shot before it died a few days ago!  Grrrrrrr!!  That machine has been a workhorse for the last 7 years and I've loved it!  Anyway, a new Platinum 6 is on its way (hopefully soon!) and hopefully that will take care of all my die cutting, embossing, foiling, & better press needs!  Now back to the card...I used the smaller pumpkin (so I wouldn't cover up too much of that beautiful embossed background!) which I die cut in white and then used DOX inks to color it up.  The "boo" is also a SSS die and the hat is from SU!'s Spooky Cat stamp set.  A few orange glitter dots and some twine finished off this not too spooky card!

My 2nd card also uses the Plump Pumpkin dies, and this time I cut them from some scraps of dsp I had in my paper bin.  (I think the dotted one is PTI but not too sure about the plaid one.)  I also did some ink sponging around the edges of both pumpkins with Walnut Stain Distress Ink to make them stand out a bit more.  I used another embossing folder for my background (FSJ - Fall Leaves) and also used the same SSS boo die set for my sentiment.  I added a couple googly eyes for fun!  A little bit of twine around the dsp stems finished off this fun little card.

   And here they both are together.  Do you have a favorite?  I like how both turned out...sweet and not too scary!  Check out all the fabulous pumpkin cards from the DT HERE and then play along.  This challenge is open till Sunday, October 29th @ 8:00PM. 

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Peace On Earth Challenge #50

Hello friends.  Playing along with the Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge and trying to stay on top of finishing my Christmas cards for this year.  They have a wonderful mood board to inspire us.  Take look:

 

I was inspired by all 4 photos, but especially the lower right one, and here's what I came up with...

I started by die cutting my truck using Spellbinder's Truckin' Through The Seasons die set and then adding ink to the edges to give the truck a bit of an aged appearance.  The tree and the NOEL sentiment are all part of the die set.

I used SSS's Forrest Border 3D embossing folder for my background and then finished with some WOS on the tree in the truck and 2 Cardinals from PTI's In The Meadow die set (an oldie but a goodie that I use every Winter!!).  I was going to add a deer, but with the truck being larger, it just didn't fit size wise, so I added it to the inside of the card.  

Besides the great mood board, there's lots of awesome inspiration for you from the DT, so if you need to finish up your Christmas cards (OR get started!), this challenge is a great place to start!  You can check it all out right HERE.  This challenge is open till Thursday, November 2nd @ 8:00PM. 

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Color Hues #74 - YELLOW & KRAFT

Hello friends.  It's time for another Color Hues Challenge and for these last two weeks of October, our hostess Hannelie would like for us to use the colors YELLOW and KRAFT.

I admit I was a little stumped at first with this color combo, but once the wheels started turning, then all kinds of ideas hit!  Don't worry though...I won't keep you here all day with oodles and oodles of cards!!  Just one!  Take a look...

This hello autumn image from Penny Black has always been a favorite of mine, so I colored her up with my Copics in the challenge colors and have to admit I really like the way she turned out!  I think in the past I've always colored her up in blue jean coveralls, but I kinda like the kraft color for something different.  And of course her bright yellow sweater really brightens things up so she matches the falling leaves!  We have a Norwegian Maple tree in our front yard that turns the prettiest yellow/gold in the Fall and is always a sight to see!

I used a kraft card base and then added a frame from PTI's Pierced Feature Frame Dies that I ran a kraft ink cube over to add a bit of a wood look to the frame.  I still felt like the card needed something, so I ran the stamped image through an older FSJ Falling Leaves embossing folder and that definitely perked things up!  I finished with adding some twine to the top and had to laugh when I couldn't open the card up...yep, mistakenly wrapped the twine around the back of the card instead of the inside!  Luckily an easy fix!!

We have lots of lovely inspiration for you from our DT, so check it all out right HERE and then play along with us...we'd love to see YOU in the gallery!  This challenge is open till October 28th @ 9:00AM.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

The Flower Challenge #85 - 7th Birthday & Anything Goes

Hello friends.  I'm playing along with The Flower Challenge today where they are celebrating their 7th Birthday...woo-hoo!!  Hard to believe they've been around this long already as I can remember when they first started, and I don't think I've missed too many of their challenges!!  But then, I am a FLOWER lover!!  To celebrate this milestone, they are having an ANYTHING GOES challenge as long as you include a FLOWER!

 I felt compelled to make a birthday card since they are celebrating a birthday, and used the Wildwood stamp set from The Greetery that came out last month and I hadn't had a chance to use it yet.  Using Fall colors, here's what I came up with...

 I started with a PFS coverplate die (Dotted Chevron) for my background and then got to work stamping and die cutting all my flowers and leaves using mostly C&9th inks except for the leaves where I used SU!'s Evening Evergreen and Soft Succulent.  After arranging everything, I glued and added foam tape, and then finished with a Gina K sentiment (So Many Sentiments) that was embossed in gold on a black strip and also added a few gold metallic pearls (PFS).

  Happy, Happy Birthday to The Flower Challenge and all their many talented designers...past and present!  I have loved this challenge right from the get go, and look forward to playing every month!  A BIG THANK YOU to Viv & Aileen for all their hard work over the years and a BIG WELCOME to Karren who will be taking over the challenge next month (you can read more about this on their site)!  This birthday celebration challenge will run till the 25th of this month and you can check out all the FABULOUS inspiration right HERE.   

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Double D Challenge - PINK OCTOBER

Hello friends.  Playing along with the gals over at the Double D Challenge where they are celebrating PINK with this fun Halloween mood board...

I love PINK and with it also being breast cancer awareness month, how could I not play along?!  I have a pretty simple Halloween card to share today that will be going to my oldest granddaughter who will get a kick out of this sweet flying bear (Waffle Flower - Boo) that my dear friend Michele enabled me to buy...

 Isn't he just the cutest?!  I started by using the Cloud stencil from A Colorful Life with pink ink and my blender brush, and if you look closely you can see the round moon I masked off behind the vellum before I started stenciling the clouds.  The bear was stamped and colored with my Copics and then fussy cut out and added to the vellum strip I attached over the cloud/moon layer.  

I embossed one of the small ghosts from the stamp set (Boo) and also embossed in black the sentiment and bats in black from the Happy Halloween set that's also from Waffle Flower.  I finished with a few black enamel dots and a bit of WOS on the bears hat & broom.

Lots and lots of fun PINK cards from the DT and already in the gallery to inspire you, and you can check it all out right HERE.  This challenge is open till Sunday, Oct. 15th @ 8:00PM.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

Dry Embossing with Re-inker Water Coloring

Hello friends.  The Group of Seven Cardmakers is a group of 7 friends that get together each month and try a new technique...this month it was Dry Embossing with Re-inker Water Coloring.  Sounds intriguing, doesn't it?!  The cards were absolutely BEAUTIFUL and I really wanted to try it, but there was one drawback for me...using black ink on the inside of your embossing folders!  I basically only use Versafine Black Onyx ink and it stains!  I could care less if it stains my stamps...I just clean it really well and they still stamp beautifully time after time.  After reading Bonnie's post (HERE) and her experience with using permanent black ink on her embossing folders, I almost didn't try this technique!  I tried Bonnie's faux version and came up with this...

It's a nice enough card, but I didn't like it!  I was trying to be too controlling!  I used SSS's Pepperberry embossing folder and dies along with Lindy's Magicals instead of re-inkers, and painted the die cuts and then fit them into the embossing folder with a piece of black cs I had already embossed.  The Magicals have a shimmer to them because of the mica flakes in the powder (you activate it with water and then paint with it), so in real life the shimmer is very pretty, but again, it just wasn't the technique like all the gals had done.  And it bugged me for a few days because I really wanted to try it, but just didn't want to stain my embossing folders and have the ink come off on other cards.  So after mulling it over for a few days, the light bulb went on, and here's 3 cards I came up with...

I stuck with using the Magicals rather than re-inkers and water colored my cardstock with Red Hot Poker Orange and Autumn Maple Crimson from the Autumn Leaves collection.  Once it was dry, I inked up the flat side of TH's Poinsettia 3D EF with SU!'s Basic Gray ink, which is a dark gray and a firm foam pad, so it inked up the flat side of the folder beautifully!  I probably could have inked it up again to achieve an even darker background, but I was so happy with the way it turned out that I didn't want to tempt fate and try to line it up perfectly again!  I matted it with some gold mirror cs and attached to a black card base and then finished with a gold embossed sentiment from C&9th's Festive Flower stamp set.  

This one didn't photograph as well but it really is pretty with the blues (Tibetan Poppy Teal) and greens (Ponderosa Pines Olive) and SSS's Vine Canopy embossing folder.  I used SU!'s Night of Navy ink to ink up the embossing folder for this one, and I did get brave and inked it twice!  The sentiments are from Honey Bee's Bitty Buzzwords stamps and dies.  Once again the shimmer from the Magicals is SO PRETTY!!

For this card I used SSS's Fall Foliage ef and then the Magicals again in Autumn Maple Crimson, Cattail Copper Brown, & Red Hot Poker Orange.  I used SU!'s Blackberry Bliss ink on this one and I really think it might be my favorite!  The shimmer and color on the leaves truly makes me think of the beauty of Autumn and what a master artist God is!  I cut my panel in half (so I could make 2 cards) and attached it to a full panel that was embossed on plain white cardstock...it really makes the colors stand out next to the white!  I added a strip of gold mirror cs between the two for definition and then finished with a foiled sentiment from Spellbinders.

So I went a little rogue and didn't quite follow the instructions exactly, but I am so pleased with the way these cards turned out...LOVE them!  Thanks so much ladies for all your BEAUTIFUL inspiration that got me going...I enjoyed every minute of this FUN technique!! 

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!

O CHRISTMAS TREE

Hello friends.  I am pretty much in full on Christmas mode lately, and have a few cards to share with you today using new Waffle Flower products...the first being the Triangle Tree stamp and stencil.  Such a simple little set, but it makes it so easy to create FUN and festive triangle shaped trees.  Take a look at my 1st try...

I stamped the trees in Versafine Black Onyx ink and then used the coordinating stencils and ink blended in rainbow order.  I used the sentiments from the set on an angle on the sides of the trees, except for "Christmas", which I embossed in white on a black strip and then added foam tape behind for a bit of dimension.  A few clear drops at the tops of the trees finished this simple CAS card.

  For my 2nd card, I embossed the tree lines in gold and then used the stencils to ink blend all in pink.  My sentiments were also embossed in gold.  And then of course I had to add that sweet little Folk Art Reindeer from Waffle Flower that my sweet friend Michele enabled me to buy!  The back layer is gold mirror cardstock and the top layer kraft cardstock.  

 My last card is a variation of my 2nd card in different colors...Soft Succulent and Evening Evergreen (SU!).

Same exact design, but embossed the tree lines in white and then used the triangle (tree) stamps instead of the stencils to add the colors to the trees.  The little reindeer is once again cut out of kraft cs with the top layer having a bit of ink blending on it.

I added gold pearls to the tops of the trees on this card and voila`...another CAS card to add to my stash!

I'll be adding the 1st card to the Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge where I was inspired by the colorful lit up tree in the bottom right corner of the mood board.

I'd also like to add all 3 cards to Darnell's NBUS Challenge since the stamps, dies, and stencil are all new to me and never been used before.

Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!